Mobile Traders Stage Protest Outside BTRC Over Six-Point Demand

Mobile phone traders and employees gathered in front of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) office in Agargaon on Sunday, demanding a reduction in import duties alongside five other conditions.Traders began assembling at the spot from the morning, while police cordoned off the surrounding area, maintaining a heavy presence around the BTRC building.On Saturday, the Mobile Business Community Bangladesh announced an indefinite shutdown of mobile phone shops across the country.Business owners claim that the implementation of the National Equipment Identity Registry (NEIR) will severely impact hundreds of thousands of traders, benefiting only a certain group. They also fear that additional taxes will further increase handset prices for consumers.Their key demands include scrapping the mandatory agreement requirement between mobile importers and local smartphone manufacturers as a condition for importing devices, ensuring a free import market, and setting a uniform 15% import duty for small, medium, and other traders to eliminate “discriminatory ...

• 07 Dec 2025